Looking For My Someone
by RZ
Summary: In this wild tale, Aeris and Cloud look for each other, and as they do, they intwine with the other characters in KH. Will they find one another before its too late? Spoilers in CH 5. Please R&R- Flamers welcome!
1. Rude Awakenings

Hey! Zeno here, just wanted to say that this is going be a blast to write. Rivett and I are co-writing this fan-fic here. Any review will be great, feel free to submit. We'll be trading off chapters, and I take the first one here, so enjoy!

   - Zeno

~~~

  I sat up rubbing my temples. Slowly I opened my eyes as I brushed my blonde locks out of the way of my face. They drifted around the strange place I'd landed, wherever it was. I noticed there were strange white concrete stairs and benches surrounding me as I sat on dirt. I supposed it was some sort of primitive arena. The place stank of sweat and blood. Odd bits of flesh and wound lay about scattered on the floor. 

  In my amazement of where ever I was, I stood only to find myself back on the ground. A surge of pain swept through my body. I instantly reached to the source of my anguish, only to find that it was missing. Looking down to where my hand should be, there remained only a bloody stump. I glared in anger, what had caused this? He took another dizzying look around the field to realize the bits of skin, blood, and fingers, where mine. 

 Blood was gushing out fast, and it was only a matter of time until I was unconscious and soon dead if I didn't stop it. I slung out my humongous sword and slashed off a bandage from my blue pant leg. Oh, how knifes are handy, especially big ones. Then I repeated the procedure with the other side. After retaining the two strips of cloth, I tied one further up my arm to reduce blood flow and then proceeded to reduce the injury to my stump by covering it and further tying it off. 

 I tried to stand again, this time become more successful. Shaking my head a tad, I began to stagger forward barely managing to retain my balance and stand again once more. I felt as if I was sobering up from Tiffa's bar. As I walked, I stumbled a tad here and there but going onward for what seemed to be eternity.

 The exit seemed to be right there, right in my reach. So close yet so far. It was, from what I can remember, giant steel bars that raised and lowered as a hollow door. I had finally reached them and grabbed hold. I looked about as to how I was supposed to lift these things to get past and to get help. The more I looked around the wearier I became. As things became blurry I finally noticed a small crank. Grasping each bar I pushed myself to the next, and the next. Though a rather funny feeling was coming over me, I found myself becoming shorter and shorter with each step. At last I knew my time was done when my face met the ground and I was very short on breath. Apparently, my bandages weren't that great because the last thing I saw was the trail I'd swaggered and stumbled in my own blood. Then everything faded black. 

 "Hey kid, kid wake up!" I heard a rather retched voice call. The person sounded as though they would have made a great comedian, and yet at the same time they could wake the dead. I opened my eyes slowly to see the God of Death looming over me, "Finally you awake."

 "I'm in hell, figures." I spoke rather sarcastically. 

 "You're here but you're not dead, so you're hell-fully alive." He laughed. I groaned, after all just dawned on my hand was gone. As I lay there in the bed I lifted the stump to see something in its place. 

 "What the in the name of all things holy did you do to me?!" I spat angrily. Apparently he'd taken the time to reconstruct my hand, "You could at least of given me an actual hand, not this freaked up claw contraption." The apparatus was a stainless steel to match my sword in the basic bone structure of a hand, except it had three fingers and a thumb. Alas I was short of a pinky. 

 Hades raised a brow at me, "_God of Death!"_ He spoke agitated. The flames on his head spiked a little, "I kill things, I _don't_ heal them." 

 "So then instead of getting some other god, goddess, or mythical being, you had a piece of weapon ingrained into my hand?" I glared at him.

 "Do you want to die?"

 "Not at this moment."

 "Good then, shut up." His flaming hairstyle seemed to calm down as he brushed his hand through it. At least I knew while he was this deathly blue shade he was in a relatively good mood. In an exasperated tone he continued, "Now, Cloud, I've been watching that planet you've been on for sometime now. I've watched you take on numerous heartless and such things. I know you can fight. And I know you have a problem, since you escaped the doom of those worlds…" his voice trailed off.

 The last few years of my life had been a giant train wreck. First I lost my love, then I lost my planet, and then when my luck just happened to change and by an act of God, she came back to me, that love of mine, I lose another planet. So that's I think how I wound up here. "Okay so, yes a lot of people track me… I even managed to sell my life story to some strange company to make some quick cash. My story is well known, what is my problem?" I hissed, after all the man, okay 'god', was prying to into my life. 

 "Hey this is no way to talk to the man who saved you!" His hair was being to stick on edge again.

 "But you're the god of death, you didn't save me!" I retorted. 

 "What's that yelling about?" A new voice rang in the room, a young girl walked in. She was direly gorgeous, but nothing compared to my love. She was dressed in a black flowing gown with a matching diamond and onyx tiara to match. She was deathly pale.  Hades quickly swung around, "Nothing my love! Nothing at all!" There was a sense of uneasiness in his voice. 

She turned her smile onto me, "Oh good you're awake, I'm sorry that I was unable to bring back your hand. I hope you like the new one I had made for you by my cousin, god of the smith. He'll get you that last finger soon, before you leave I promise."

 I bit my lip, I was so, so, so wrong.

 "Cloud, meet Queen Persephone, my wife."  I moved the steel contraption, it wasn't that bad, it would always remain with a new look because it was god made and stainless steel, missing one finger wasn't too much after all. I mean it wasn't my thumb; that would prove to be a problem if it had.

 I smiled and nodded, "Yes, thank you very much for all your care."

 She smiled and nodded back, "When I saw you there in the coliseum I demanded that you be brought here for care. I mean it wasn't you fault and I wasn't going to let those horrible Fates have you yet."

 Hades continued to glare at me, "My Queen, we have a few matters to discuss, if you wouldn't mind excusing us?" he said hastily. She said her goodbyes and left, "Charming little thing. Just saw her one day and scooped her up to brighten up the place."

 "Very. Sorry about the agitation before."

 "Same here." Amazing what the presence of a woman can do. I remember that I totally shaped up around _her._ No more boos, no more spontaneous fighting, unless it was to protect her, then I was busy all the time. Oh how I wished for one of Persephone's flowers to remind me of my love.

 "She's not here Cloud, I would know after all," he chuckled, "she's in the land of the living. I have a proposition to make…" I looked intently at him. With the world growing closer and closer to anarchy and chaos with the growing powers of the Heartless, the only thing I wanted was to be her to be safe by my side. I would not fail her again. 

 "I'll help you find her if you do me one favor. Kill this man," a picture instantly appeared out of thin air. He was a strong looking young man, his hair was radiant golden wheat, with matching amber eyes, a nice physique, and matching tan. This guy was simply a teenage heartthrob.   
 "You want me to kill him, why can't you do it?" I was just curious; I would do anything for her, anything.

 "I don't really want go into that too much, lets just say we'd have major family problems, gods don't generally kill one another."

 I was astounded, "You want me to kill a god?"

 "Demi actually, see he's son of Zeus, and his mother is mortal, so instead of eternal life he got super strength. So I need you (I've seen you in action before) to go kill him, dead." 

 I sighed, "Well I will when I am rested I suppose, but you must promise to help me find her."

 A contract appeared in front of me, "This will be the exact plan we can use to do the job, and all you have to do is sign it and we'll be good to go!" Hades grinned with glee. I began to read and read and read. 

 Even a place in my heart was tingling and I was beginning to smile, "Mind if we talk over some food, I'm starved."  
 "I'll have to order out or you'll be stuck here forever, that's the rule of Tartarus. The only exception is my Queen."

 I nodded and we began to talk more and more. 


	2. The Flower Girl and the Heartless

Hey! Rivett here! Sorry the second chapter took so long to write, if any of you out there are reading this. I wrote most of this on a plane coming back from Paris, so sorry if it's weird or anything- that long on a plane can do strange things to people. Well, anyway, here it is! Flames and any other kind of review are totally welcome! Whoo! ---Rivett. By the way, this is done in the perspective of Leon, if you didn't get what his name meant down there. Just to let ya' know. –R  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own any part of KH or any other FF things. Too bad, 'cause Cloud is hot. And Leon. And Riku. And. . .  
  
Ch. 2:  
  
~~~  
  
Leon  
  
She always was a one to come at the wrong time, or so I hear. I found her lying in an alleyway, her hair matted and wrapped around her like a thick, dirty blanket. The ground trembled and shook under both of our feet,. but she didn't seem to notice. She didn't seem to notice much of anything, in truth.  
  
I was trying to save as many people as possible. That's my job. So many years in SEED has left me trained and ready for an emergency. And boy, this one was.  
  
The problem was that we didn't really know what was going on. The kingdom of Hallow Bastion is not one to suffer from natural disasters. Our city has always been nice and peaceful, and in my time living there, never a rumbling mass of chaos.  
  
We had no idea it was coming. The morning before, it had been a beautifully bright day. Most of the townspeople were out, strolling the clean streets. I had a picnic with a few of my friends. It seemed like a normal, nice day. Then night came, and everything broke loose. I saw it before most people, and managed to get with one of my buddies, Cid.  
  
It was a giant sphere of what seemed to be colors; a whirling mass, a black hole. I had never seen anything like it, and the sight fascinated me. It didn't occur to me that we could be in danger, but Cid had other ideas. I guess it's my fortune that Cid happened to have a bad case of paranoia, because the next thing I knew, we were boarding one of his many ships to go to some other world he knew about. At the time, I didn't really want to go, but Cid had carefully explained to me that if we didn't get the !@#$ out of there, we were going to be nothing but dust in a few hours. I don't really take Cid seriously, but the thought of being dust wasn't too pleasant.  
  
That's when I found her, as I was running across the windblown cement ground, calling out to anyone I could find. I'd already rounded up one chick- some loud girl that called herself the 'Great Ninja Yuffie'. She was cute, I admit, but even then I had a bad feeling that she was going to be one giant headache later on. But that's a different story.  
  
The woman was huddled against the wall, her dirty little frame looking at a glance like a sack of potatoes. I wouldn't have seen her, had it not been for the solitary flower that shone brightly in the mud of the area. It's funny that the area was so dirty-- most of Hallow Bastion is always clean.  
  
I was surprised by the luminous flower. As I approached it seemed to glow, as if it was made of light, or something, I didn't know what it was doing there, or why the woman was holding it, but I wanted to find out. Besides, this woman wouldn't be around much longer if I didn't do something. By then I had realized that something terrible really was happening, and it wasn't just Cid's paranoia that had me running the streets. The whole area was completely deserted, and the wind was beginning to pick up fiercely. The orb above my head was becoming darker and more sinister by the moment, and I realized that I didn't have a lot of time left.  
  
"Miss!" I called, looking at her dirty little frame. Her little sack body said nothing. I took a step closer, then a step back as I realized that all this woman was wearing was her hair alone. I turned to leave, but the ground began to shake under me, only reminding me of the fate that was to befall this woman if I left her. Wincing, I walked towards her and grabbed my shirt, puling it over my head, tryign to unbuckle everything to get it off. I went to her frame and pushed it over the giant mass of hair I knew to be her head. The woman said nothing as I picked her off the ground. The little flower fell from her hand, and to my surprise, she reached out and grabbed it out of the air, cradling it against her chest as if it was the most valuable thing in the world. Then she went limp, as if she had never moved at all.  
  
There wasn't time to ponder her actions. As soon as she was in my arms, the giant swirl of color above my head in the sky began to crackle and sparkle. I cursed under my breath, beginning to run towards the air grounds, where I knew Cid would be waiting.  
  
The area was deserted as I ran towards the ship. I wonder now whether they had been taken by the heartless, or if they had all escaped. I will never know.  
  
It was fortunate that I was closer to the air grounds, for as I reached the ship and banged on the door, the wind picked up in a wild tornado of wind, and the swirling black hole became even bigger. Trees and whole houses began flying up into its inky depths. It is a miracle that our ship didn't get sucked up with it, but I guess that's what you call luck, isn't it?  
  
Yuffie was the first to notice the new passenger: as soon as I got into the ship.  
  
"What's this?" She asked, loudly. I looked at her with my eyebrows raised. What did she think it was?  
  
"I found her," I explained. Yuffie smiled like it was Christmas.  
  
"Ooh!" She said happily. "Can I fix her up? She looks horrible! What did you do to her, Squall?"  
  
I sighed angrily and squinted at her.  
  
"That's Leon." I told her for the fifth time. Yes, I am Leon Squall, and at one time just Squall, but we're not going back to old times. Once Squall, now Leon. Simple. Yuffie, who met me only hours before had trouble comprending that. It bugs me when people use my last name. That was my old life, like I said. A long time ago I decided I wasn't going to ever look back on the past. Things happened, things I don't want to remember. I'm living right now, and that's works for me.  
  
Yuffie, of course, ignored me, despite my relentless nagging. She was too busy trying to get the girl from my arms. I let her have her-- the last thing I need is someone seeing me carrying a naked woman around: my reputation didn't need that, and if Cid saw, he'd never let me hear the end of it.  
  
After Yuffie had disappeared with the mysterious woman, the ship's lights grew dim and the engine began to rumble. I went to the cockpit and found Cid sitting in the front, his brow furrowed with thought. When he saw me, however, he smiled wryly.  
  
"What happened to your shirt?" He asked me. For a moment I stared at him. Then, I shrugged.  
  
"I found a girl. Yuffie's taking care of her right now." For some reason, I didn't want to tell him about the mysterious way I'd found her. He was too busy, and there'd be another time to tell the strange story.  
  
Cid smiled again and nodded and turned back to the controls. I could tell he didn't really care about anything at that moment—his mind was on the ship, and not me.  
  
"Gotta get this baby in the air, or we won't be makin' it." He told me in a mumble. I nodded and sat down in a plush chair beside him as he began to push and pull various buttons. I don't know squat about flying, and I could only hope that he knew what he was doing.  
  
The ship launched without a problem. Cid is an expert when it comes it. I don't really know his history, but I do know that he knows his stuff, right down to the very last detail. But, it doesn't surprise me. Someone like Cid just seems like he would know his stuff.  
  
I wanted to see Hallow Bastion as we flew higher in the air, but before I could get a good look, Yuffie came running out of nowhere. Big surprise—that girl has a way to spoil the best of moments.  
  
"Squall!" She cried, running up towards me. I winced, but decided to let it slide when I saw her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked her, lurching a little in the turbulence of the plane as I stood. Yuffie put her hand against the seat and gasped for air—apparently she'd run to get to me.  
  
"The girl's making weird noises! Come help me figure 'em out, will you?" She said, looking at me with her big eyes. I sighed and stood, following her back into the infirmary quarters of the craft.  
  
She was lying in one of the small cots in the corner of the room, and to my relief, wearing one of Yuffie's shirts. I don't know how the crazy girl did it in such little time, but the woman looked so much better—her reddish- brown hair had been washed and combed back, and her face was pink from being scrubbed clean. She stared up at the ceiling with bright, glazed green eyes. The flower I had seen her with still lay clutched against her chest.  
  
As I drew closer, I realized she was mumbling softly under her breath, but the words were incomprehensible.  
  
"See what I mean?" Yuffie said, walking over to me and clutching my arm as the ship lurched again as we ascended higher. I nodded and looked at her with exasperation, wishing I could be watching Hallow Bastion instead of this mumbling woman. Yuffie ignored my look and gripped my arm tighter. "We won't leave until we know what she's saying! Then maybe we can help her!" She demanded, pushing me closer to the girl. Wanting to get back to the window, I bent down closer to the woman's mouth, trying to hear her words. A moment later, the mumbles came clear to my ears, but it didn't make any sense.  
  
"So, what's she saying?" Yuffie asked me anxiously. I looked up at her and shook my head.  
  
"It doesn't make any sense." I told her plainly. "She just keeps saying this one word over and over."  
  
"What is it?" Yuffie asked me. I shrugged as the craft lurched violently, then stood as I realized I might miss seeing my home if I continued with this chit-chat. I turned to leave, but Yuffie caught up with me. "WHAT WAS IT?" She squealed in my ear. I winced and looked down at her, half-dragging her to the cockpit, hoping she'd shut up so I could go see Hallow Bastion just one more time, or at least what was left of it, but Yuffie kept screaming. Finally I stopped and looked down at her.  
  
"It doesn't make sense." I explained. "I don't even know if she's saying what I think."  
  
"Well, just tell me!" Yuffie exclaimed, jumping up and down impatiently. I sighed.  
  
"Cloud." I told her. "It sounded like she was saying the word 'cloud' over and over." Yuffie stared at me and the shrugged, letting go of my arm.  
  
"I don't get it." She told me. "But, oh well!" With that, she scampered off, hollering back a word of thanks before disappearing around the corner.  
  
"Will you !@#$ kids stop your yapping?" Cid yelled, navigating around a large tree that was coming our way. "I'm trying to get us out of this !@#$ situation!" I looked out the window and saw my home, Hallow Bastion, as it had become. Although we were high in the air, it was obvious that the ground had been covered by what looked like a giant mass of writing bugs.  
  
"What are those?" I asked Cid with disgust. Cid grunted and glanced at me.  
  
"Those, kid," he said darkly. "Are what are destroying the world. I dunno what they are, but they ain't good, I'll tell you that. Good thing we're leaving."  
  
"Yes," I said softly as the ground became invisible under the black. The swirling orb above us crackled and fizzed, and the world seemed to begin to be swallowed into darkness. I almost closed my eyes, it was so bad.  
  
"Say goodbye, kid." Cid said as we began to pull out of the atmosphere. "'Cause we ain't gonna be comin' back for a long time." I watched sadly as the world I had lived in for a long time evaporated from my sight.  
  
"Bye." I mumbled under my breath, as the last rays of light were sucked from the land. The ship gave a boom, and we flew higher and higher, until Hallow Bastion became nothing but a dark hole in the window. I looked out as stars began to be visible, and wondered just what we had all gotten ourselves into. 


	3. Starts of Chaos

Zeno here, yeah okay thanks for the tip I misspelled Aeris's name through the whole thing. Fixed, okay we're back on track and rolling. By the way, if some of the grammar seems kind of funny it may be that way on purpose. I guess sometimes I like to write like Yoda, maybe?

 Any who enjoy!

  I shook my head as I sat up. The last thing I could remember was sitting down in the chair facing where we were coming from having trouble breathing. Come to think of it, this room was totally different, and how had I ended up here? After all the Great Ninja Yuffie didn't get in life threatening situations everyday.

   I took a look around, Squall was sleeping on another bed like mine, Cid was doing the same, on one next to his, and that strange girl was cleaned up still rocking back and forth. It was strange she seemed so familiar. I'd seen her somewhere before. She was missing something. I got up and walked over, I was the only conscious one in the room, and so what would it hurt right?

 Well I got over there and she stopped staring right at me, and the ribbon around my neck, my red ribbon. I touched with my fingers, and untied it. It was the last present I'd got from Cloud before he left. Apparently it had belonged to someone close to him, because he told me to hold on to it till he got back. I handed it to her and she eagerly snatched it up. I stepped back afraid, the strange feeling still resided in me. 

  She rose and walked over to a mirror and tied it in her hair and turned around and smiled, "Do you know where my Cloud is?"

 I stumbled back aghast. It was Aeris! It was Cloud's precious Aeris! She was suppose to be dead though? Right? Septhroth had killed her last we knew. I sputtered, "I'm not sure at the moment."

 She smiled softly at me, "Thank you for my ribbon, I would be nothing with out it, please call me Aerith."

 "You're Aeris though, don't you remember?" 

 "I was, I'm a new person, and so I wish to go by a new title. The old me died a long time ago." She looked out the window into the stars, looking a bit forlorn. Then her attention turned back to me with a smile, "So where are we exactly, Yuffie?"

 "I don't know that either." This chick was just creepy. I mean she was dead for crying out loud, and I didn't know if I should ask her either. Plus she knew my name! Oh what the heck, "Aerith, uhm, how can you be here if you were dead?" 

 She remained silent, "That's something I'm not quite sure of, the last I remember was the searing pain of his blade through my back, and the last feelings of Cloud's arms. Then blackness lots of blackness."

 "Oh," her voice dropped off and her face looked very sad. Me being the loud obnoxious person I am decided to cheer her up, "Well, we shall have to find Cloud, he's to stubborn to die anyways. Though I do admit he's changed a bit since you left us."

 She knew who I was, and she knew who Cloud was, maybe she was the real thing. And she knew _him_. That %*#@.  Then again with everything that's happened, I just don't know who to believe anymore. I turned around to look at Squall and Cid, they both slept so soundly. Aerith smiled, "I see Cid is still around. Good old Cid. Does he still cuss a lot?"

 "Just as much as ever, though his mouth his clean when it needs to be," I smiled, "Only for short periods though."

 "Who's that?" she pointed to the other table.

 "That's Squall. Or at least that's what I call him he likes to go by," before I could finish what I presumed to be door slid open, a strange looking sort of duck stood there. Aerith and I both turned too look at him.

 He was in a white coat with open showing his black-buttoned stained shirt underneath. Grey hairs extended from his head surrounding a crowing of feathers and he wore spectacles on his beak. He saw us awake and quacked in surprise, "Goodness what are you doing out of bed! Get back down now!" 

 I looked at Aerith and we both grinned playfully, hopping of course back on our bunks. His almost German accent was hilarious. Quite fitting if I do say so for a doctor, "Uhm, Mr. Where are we?"

 "First of all I am Doctor, Ludwig Van Drake! Second you are aboard the Explorer, the grandest of King Mickey's star ships. Designed by yours truly!" He bowed and then came quite close, invading my, Yuffie's, personal space, "But the question my dear, who are you, and what are you?"  
 I glanced from side to side to see if he was serious and he was. What a deranged duck, "I am the great Ninja Yuffie." I spoke proudly, "And I'm human." I pushed him back with my finger. 

 "Good, good, you seem to be better than before," his attention had turned to Aerith, "You name?"

"Aerith and yes I am feeling better."

 "What a pretty name." Drake smiled at her. 

 A grumbling noise came to my left, I looked over to see Squall finally coming around, "Get up sleepy head." I pushed him in the arm. He sat up holding his head.

 "I must have the largest headache known to man." He responded opening his eyes looking around. 

 "It happens when the body is deprived of oxygen." Drake said pointing one of his feathered fingers in the air, "And you are?"

 "Squall Leon. Call me Leon." He gave the duck a serious look, and Drake nodded in return. That was Squall though, always serious. Always serious. If it wasn't for me I swear he'd die of it. 

 With in a few more minutes of awkward silence, Cid was awake cursing everything in site in distaste of his pained head. I laughed at him, he was so funny when he poured bad words from his mouth. 

  Dr. Drake looked us over and said we were fine and gave everyone painkillers, thank god. 

 "Hey doc," I spoke while he was fiddling around with strange liquids. 

 "Yes?"

 "How bout you giving one that will knock Cid out and finally get him to shut up." He stopped cursing out the ship and turned to glare at me.

 "That might not be such a bad idea after all." Leon responded with a slight grin on his face.

 Cid being Cid, "If you darn $#*( duck try and get near me you will not live to see another damned day."

 We all laughed but Drake was actually filling up a shot. I looked to Aerith who was still giggling, and then to Leon who had the largest grin on his face as did myself.

 Drake dared to get near, and near he got. Cid tried to punch him and he just stuck the needle in his fist and let it go right in. I looked rather shocked. Cid was even surprised, "Whoa, man… I'm just gunna sit down here…" he fell over on the bed out like a light.

 "There that is better." Drake spoke happily, "Maybe next time he'll be cleaner with the tongue." 

 "You knew I was kidding right?" I spoke confused.

 "Yes, and well I though it would be better done."

 I gave Leon a worried look. I mean these people had a lot of power if they could knock Cid, of all people, out so quickly. After all we didn't know where we were.

 Leon started, "Okay now that you've had your fun, mind answering some of our questions?"

 "That is not for me to do," the doors again opened to reveal another duck, a strange sort of dog, and a mouse with a crown, "Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey just the people we need."

  The "King" chuckled happily, "Welcome to our ship and please make yourself comfortable." The mouse looked strait at Leon and he looked back at Mickey, "Leon we have some matters to discuss if you would walk with me?"

 "Certainly your highness?" 

 "You know him Squall?" I piped in. I needed to know too, after all what the heck was going on?

 "Yuffie, I know the King, it's okay we're in good hands."

 Mickey turned to his counterparts, "Why don't you two take these girls to go get some food? You must be starved."

 "Yes your highness." The Duck quacked in a squeaky voice, "Ladies this way." He opened the sliding doors guiding us out. I glanced at Leon for approval, he nodded and Aerith and I left. The door shut leaving King Mickey and Leon behind. 

 The tall one, called Goofy, I can only imagine why, grabbed my shoulder, "So what's your name?"

 "Yuffie."  
 "I like that name, good name." He chuckled. I glanced around worried. 

 Aerith talked with Donald, whose voice was driving me nuts, and I talked with Goofy, who was okay. We walked a few paces and we arrived at the "mess hall." They showed us these cool food replicator things, we ordered who knew what, but it tasted good at least.   
 Goofy, Donald, Aerith, and I sat down at one table, each with food. Yum. "So why were you guys in that ship?" Donald quacked with greens in his bill.

 "Something ate our planet."

 Goofy looked over to Donald concerned, "The Heartless." 

 Donald nodded, Aerith looked saddened, "Heartless, what is that?"

 "They are evil creatures that consume all light." Aerith spoke disconnected from life. 

Goofy pondered, "How did you know that?"

 "I don't know. I just know." She rubbed her arm and shrugged. 

 "Okay they what do they look like?" I asked, I mean it was I guess a good thing to know. 

 "Well it depends on the type," Goofy responded, "but they all have one symbol and it looks like this." He grabbed a napkin and a pen and started drawing. 

 When he finished he passed it to me, it was a heart with sort of gothic curves in graved in it. The center was colored black, and the outline was a thick red. Fitting of the name heartless, "Okay so they Heartless they eat worlds? Why?"

 "Well we haven't quite got that far yet." Donald responded, "That's why we were coming out here, to Hallow Baston, when we found it was gone and you were the survivors." 

 Aerith and I nodded, "So then do we know anything about them."

 "Only that they are spreading through out the known universe creating chaos and that they are destroying it as well."

 "We also know that they take peoples hearts and turn them into other heartless." Goofy added. "And that they can appear almost anywhere where summoned."  
 Lights dropped from the ceiling screaming red light, "Apparently there is one aboard, Yuffie." Donald quacked. 

 "And that means we have a mole too." Goofy spoke quietly, "Things, I think, are going to get a little scary." 

 I nodded and my hands lowered to my ninja stars in concern, life was just going to get tricky again.


	4. A Wooden Sword and a Heart of Courage

HEY! Rivett here! Here's the next chapter! I know it's kinda short, but I'm going to follow it up with another one soon, and it will be longer. So, for now, thanks for reading, and please review if you have the time! -Riv  
  
~~~  
  
Riku  
  
When I was younger, I loved this cave. Sora and I, we used to play 'warrior'; every day there was another beast to battle. Sometimes it almost seemed real, when the wind whistled a particular way thorough the small crack, or when the sun would suddenly disappear behind lazily drifting clouds, and we would suddenly be drowned in darkness. It was at these times that Sora would stop playing our games. He was afraid.  
  
But, I was never afraid. I wanted so badly for our game to become real, for there to be real danger—anything to save me from the sickening boredom that saturated my very existence. When the game became something different-- when the pretending became reality-- that's when, even for just a minute, I finally felt alive.  
  
But, Sora was scared. After we got older, Sora stopped playing with me. He had other things to, like hanging out with the girl that had come to us so strangely, during a meteor shower. Kairi.  
  
At fist I thought nothing of the younger girl. She and Sora seemed to grow close, but I, I was too busy 'training', as I called it. It really was nothing-- only a wooden sword I had made myself. How I wish to hold a real sword in my hands, to feel the smooth metal slash across a target, to feel the satisfying crunch... but no. It is only wood and my imagination.  
  
And then Kairi. . . I watched with increasing torment as the little girl I had known blossomed into a beautiful. . . woman. But it wasn't just her beauty that sparked my interest; she had such a fire within her, and when she smiled at me. . . I thought my heart would burst. By the time I realized that I felt more to Kairi than just friendship, it was too late. Sora, my best friend, my buddy, whom I had spent my childhood and my growing teenage years with, had already stolen her heart. I saw the looks she gave him, as much as I tried to prevent them. She liked him, maybe even loved him, and there was nothing I could do about it.  
  
After a while, I gave up. I know that Kairi will never love me in the way that I do her, but if anything were ever to happen to her, I will always be waiting, to save her. . . 


	5. The Heartless

Okay, okay, I know this took forever to get out! But life was tremendously busy at the end of the school year… no excuse I know, so get over me and enjoy this writing...

Zeno

I smiled as Cid finally shut up being the fact he was unconscious. It was a pleasure also to see the young woman finally all together. Who knew that I had found Cloud's love? He would be pleased when he finally decided to return. I hoped he was safe.

I watched as Yuffie interrogated the local Quack until King Mickey returned for me. He entered in his proud attire and he smiled like he always did at me. His high pitched voiced squeaked my summon and I left my party, for a more private conversation. Yuffie yelled out at me as I left the room curious as to how I'd met his Royal Highness.

Meeting the mouse happened a while earlier actually. We'd been on the ship soon after the planet had seemed to implode and as the final shock wave swept over us. The damned thing just happened to possess the wonderful capability of shutting down all electronic equipment – our old crappy ship.

With nothing really do to with out a nice jump-start, I checked on the crew. Yuffie was sitting by a window very confused in her own thoughts. I left her to that, and it seemed the mysterious girl had found some peace in her dreams. Cid had passed me to check on the engines to see if he could at least try. As for myself I returned to the cockpit and waited.

Cid soon returned with his efforts in vain. He sat next to me and told me that we only had about six hours of air left. We had no choice, so we put out a distress signal and waited, waited and waited some more. It seemed like an eternity and our sign of hope was diminishing. Towards the end of the six hours we were slunk back in our chairs only focusing on breathing. I noticed that Yuffie had already passed out and Cid was close to follow.

I heard a beeping noise all of a sudden. I tried to rise to check for the source, but I could not. I turned to Cid who had finally fallen: he would be no help. I felt my eyelids growing heavy as a small gust rushed up behind me. It was cool and fresh.

Air.

A strange figure came up to my side and put a small mask to my face, "Breath." So I did. In a matter of minutes I was feeling better, I was exhausted but better. My party was loaded on to floating stretchers and we were carted off into the mysterious ship. I was separated from my party through the trip; I arrived in a new room alone.

The same figure entered the room as I'd seen before. He wore a smile and had large ears with a crown in the middle he came up to my side, "I'm glad we arrived when we did, you would have been dead, how are you fairing? I am King Mickey of Traverse."

I took a deep breath and sighed, "I am Squall Leon. Please call me Leon. I am curious as to the conditions of my friends?"

"They are being cared for as we speak, nothing more than a lack of air from what I understand."

"Good, good. Where are we?"

"Where Hallow Boston should have been, I believe you to the be survivors of the missing planet?"

"You would be correct to presume that. The world grew dark when we escaped and then from what I could tell of Yuffie's constant, incessant screaming and chattering the world imploded."

The large mouse nodded, "Thank you I needed to know that, you should rest. I will have you returned to you friends and we will converse more later. Rest now."

I now found us doing that conversing he'd promised now.

"How are you feeling Leon?"

"Much better." I stretched my arms above my head, "The nap did a lot of good."

"Good I'm glad to hear that. Now I have a few questions for you."

"All right."

"However first I would like for us to move to a more private area, the observation deck?"

"This is your ship Highness, your opinion would be best." He nodded and we were off the to the deck, once we arrived the conversation began.

"The planet really is missing." I looked in curiosity amazed at the sight.

Mickey nodded, "Yes it is, your planet is not the only one."

"How many?" My voice drifted off in surprise.

"At least 20."

"It's not safe anywhere anymore is it?"

"Not at all, I'm trying to stop this menace; however I need your help. I need to know what was happening on that planet, more or less about a man named Ansem. Did you know him?"

"I knew of him. He was a greatly known scientist."

"Yes that is the man I'm talking about." King Mickey leaned against the railing looking out into the stars, "He was studying a type of creatures called, Heartless."

"Heartless?" I asked curiously. The moment I spoke alarms went off all over the ship, red lights descended from the ceiling.

King Mickey smiled, "I suppose you shall learn what one is now. There must be one on the ship. Let us go to the nearest armory, you can retrieve your sword."

I nodded and we ran out and down the halls until we reached a wall. Mickey placed his hand on a panel and the wall slid open revealing my gun blade and his staff. I checked the barrel, full. Mickey called the bridge where a scratchy voice relayed that the enemy was in the engine room and that Chip and Dale were in need of help. The King's face turned grim.

He turned immediately to the elevator shaft and we rode on down to the lowest decks. After exiting, the halls were dark; lights had imploded through out the halls. I turned behind myself for a full look there was a small animal sucking on a wire. My eyes narrowed staring intently as I moved closer.

The thing stopped its energy drain and faced me. Mickey came up behind me, "That is weakest of the Heartless breed. Be careful though, just because it looks small it may not be."

The cricket looking thing seemed to grin as it glowed transforming into a rather huge bug. I looked in horror as it grew. "My god, it's feeding off the power!"

I pulled my blade out and charged the now rather larger bug. Fangs began protruding from its mouth as saliva dripped from its teeth. A foul putrid stench started to crawl its way across the room burning both our nostrils as it smiled evil scratching its dark green sides.

I continued my charge springing into the air prepared to thrust downward into the beast. The creature lashed out with one of its stringy arms and slashed at scraping my side. I smirked at the pain as my blade dug deep into its flesh sending out a scream from the creature.

Next thing I knew I was plunging my sword into the ground. The thing had vanished. I looked around and finally up to where I saw a small heart fade away into darkness. I turned back to Mickey as I gripped my side feeling where the blood was starting to stain my clothing.

Mickey nodded, "That I admit was bizarre, I've never seen one actually change size like that. We must keep moving. Engineering, I fear must be far worse."

I stood, the injury wasn't that bad. The king didn't seem to notice. We ran down the hall towards the core of the ship.


End file.
